Synopsis (provided by Acorn Publishing):
At twenty-three and with a notorious case under his belt, Emory Rome has already garnered fame as a talented special agent for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. His career is leapfrogging over his colleagues, but the jumping stops when he’s assigned a case he fought to avoid – to investigate an eerie murder in the Smoky Mountain hometown he had abandoned. This mysterious case of a dead teen ice-skater once destined for the pros is just the beginning. In a small town bursting with envious friends and foes, Rome’s own secrets lie just below the surface. The rush to find the murderer before he strikes again pits Rome against artful private investigator, Jeff Woodard. The PI is handsome and smart, seducing Rome and forcing him to confront childhood demons, but Woodard has secrets of his own. He might just be the killer Rome is seeking.

Quick Synopsis: Demonic possession has overtaken Kyle Barnes’ entire life and it’s time for him to get some answers.

I’m going to be super honest here: I really wasn’t a fan of the art style at first. I think if I continuously consume a certain type of art style for too long, I can’t stray from it. As of late, I’ve definitely been super into a more cutesy style that instantly catches attention. After reading this for a bit, I realized that the art style was absolutely perfect for the type of story being told.

Quick Synopsis: Basically a ghost story that takes place in a knock-off IKEA.

I rounded up my rating for this review. I originally gave it 3.75 stars on Goodreads because it wasn’t “scary” enough for me.

I saw this book on bookstagram and was instantly captivated by the odd packaging of it. The book looks exactly like an IKEA catalog. It was quirky enough to catch my attention and when Barnes and Noble had it on sale, I grabbed it, no questions asked.

It took me quite a few months to finally read this book too and I regret that decision. The characters were likable and relate able enough to warrant some sort of emotion and feelings for them from the reader. The story was essentially a haunted house set in a furniture store.

Anyone who has worked retail and just replace the Orsk name with whatever store they worked at and it instantly adds another creep factor. Because everyone’s had these characters as coworkers and every store is freaky as fudge in the dark. But back to the story.

Horrorstor was more gory than it was “scary”. It had its frightening moments but overall the visuals that Hendrix lays out are images that will resonate with any reader.

I would definitely recommend to any fan of horror or gore and I will definitely read more of Hendrix’s work.

Winter of 2014 was a good time for buying and receiving books. Winter has two gift giving holidays in my household, Christmas and my birthday. So, of course, I got books for both occasions.

Yay! ❤

But first, don’t remind me how grainy this picture is. It looked so much better on my phone. Ugh. ANYWAY!

The list includes:

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
-This is the sequel to the beloved, soon to be major motion picture, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Did I mention my copy is autographed? ❤ This lovely gem was gifted to me by my loving boyfriend.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
-This is Poehler’s memoir and first book. Also signed ❤ and also gifted by the novio.

Sanctum by Madeline Roux
-Sequel to the hidden gem Asylum. I read Asylum when it came out, which was before this blog so I’m not entirely sure if I reviewed it, but holy moly, I’ll review both because I loved Asylum. Gifted to myself 😉

My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins
-Which is 12 different love stories set around the holidays and if you keep up with my blog, you know I loved it.

Schizo by Nic Sheff
-The main character goes through a schizophrenic episode the same weekend his brother goes missing. Does this not sound amazingly interesting? I wanted it for so long and, again, my lovely boyfriend gave it to me for Christmas!

Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk
-This was a spur the moment buy. It was signed and I decided to read the synopsis, after that, I had to get it. It’s like a crazy take over the world story. You want to know how they want to take over the world? Sex Toys. There, now you know why I wanted it. Also, I’ve never read Palahniuk, so why not start now?

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
-This is his memoir and it’s a choose your own path book. What’s not to want? Also, I received this from Random House and Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. So, yes. I’m excited for this one.

Seventh Son by Joseph Delaney
-This is a bind up of the first two books from The Last Apprentice series. It’s a movie tie in cover but I could deal. It was cheap and it was two books in one. I’ll try to read it before I watch the movie. I’ve heard good things about this series. Gifted it to myself, obvs.

Harley Quinn Preludes and Knock-Knock Jokes by Karl Kesel
-I honestly don’t know much about this comic book except that it revolves around Harley Quinn and she’s my spirit animal. Gifted to me by my lovely brother and his girlfriend for Christmas.

The Selection by Kiera Cass
-I’ve heard so many amazing things about this series. I’ve heard it described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games and hey, yes, this got me crazy curious. So, I’ll hopefully catch up with the series before The Elite comes out. Gifted to myself. (I know, I’m terrible)

Artfolds
-This is a book that is more of an activity. It’s filled with Walt Disney quotes and then you fold the pages a certain way, so when you have it opened, it is in the shape of Mickey Mouse. It was cute and on sale and I need more cute decorations in my room, so sue me.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
-The cover is gorgeous and I’m excited to read it. I’ve heard nothing by good things about it. I’m usually really iffy about sci-fi but I just couldn’t pass this one up.

and last but not least,

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
-As some of you may know/remember, I read Fangirl a while back and just couldn’t. I literally couldn’t. However, I read Landline and absolutely adored it. Rowell’s story in My True Love Gave to Me was the absolute best one. I realized that I love her. (and I’m willing to give Fangirl a second chance). So, my amazing boyfriend got me the collector’s edition of Eleanor and Park, and it is signed, by the amazing Rainbow Rowell. EEEEEEP! ❤ ❤ So excited to read this.

That concludes my epic Winter 2014 Book Haul.

I’ve only read two from the list so far but I must say, this is my most exciting haul I’ve ever had! Good luck everyone and HAPPY READING!

Quick Synopsis: Coraline Jones goes through a tiny door in her new home, only to find out that there is another world so similar to hers, she can hardly tell the difference. However, there’s another Mother there who aims to keep Coraline in her world, all for herself.

Let’s take this second to marvel at my synopsis, yeah? Yeah

Coraline is a truly terrifying story for children, and honestly adults as well. It’s a wonderful book for all ages that delves into the themes of family and homecoming. This story touches on the feelings that everyone has about their lives. My life could be better. My mom sucks, I never get to have candy. And so on and so forth. So in that sense, this story is so highly relate-able, I regret not reading it as a youngster.

Coraline is an adventurous young girl who feels stuck with very bland (non-adventurous parents). So, when she has the chance to escape into a land much like her own, but FUN, she jumps at the chance. It’s very reminiscent of that cool aunt you had that would always give you ice cream and toys. But you know, not evil.

The art in this book, seems to be a staple, in the book world, but…I didn’t really like it. Dave McKean is the illustrator. He works with Gaiman on like every one of his projects. McKean also illustrated one of my favorite graphic novels: Arkham Asylum- A Serious House on Serious Earth. However, the art in Coraline seemed all too frantic to me. Don’t get me wrong, the art in Arkham is really frantic too but it’s more put together. In a way, it’s so much more terrifying. In Coraline, it just seemed like unfinished sketches of things that were potentially creepy. But yeah, I guess it had to be dialed down for the children.

Anyway, this is a great story for everyone and I entirely suggest reading it.

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